An Era of Perspective
By: Jeremy McMullen
Everyone loves a champion. At least that is the saying. But it isn't necessarily true. Instead, everyone loves their champion. When another proves to be equal or stronger, then all reason slips through the window when judging skill. The lamentations would resume in earnest following the dominant performance at Spa by Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull. Suddenly, there was this feeling of resignation, of needing to face reality. Just when it seemed there would be a titanic battle between Vettel, Alonso, Raikkonen and a resurgent Hamilton, the German would blow by with ease and left in his wake a helpless gaggle of elite Formula One drivers and a hopeless fan base. Unlike at other times, Vettel's ability would be front and center more than the RB9. Still, there would be more than a few resentful fans resuming the debate over whether it was the car or the driver.
Everyone is convinced Vettel's success comes down, purely and simply, to whatever Red Bull chassis Adrian Newey happens to pen on his old drafting board. But to make such a rush to judgment begs an honest answer to a very important question, which is this: Has there ever been a World Champion in Formula One history that has ever achieved the pinnacle without having the best, or one of the best, cars on the grid? The only simple and honest answer to this question would have to be—no.
But, before Vettel is skewered and placed over the fire of supposed 'balanced' analysis of talent it is important to have an era of perspective. That perspective starts with understanding the fact there is a vast difference between a championship and a single race.
Start at the very beginning. Guiseppe Farina would be the first World Champion in 1950. It is true Juan Manuel Fangio had the potential of stealing the championship away from Farina but the most important point to that season would be the simple fact that the two main challengers, both Farina and Fangio, would be behind the wheel of the most dominant car of that season, the Alfa Romeo 158.
The following season, Fangio would be at the wheel of the Alfa Romeo 159. And, while the Ferrari 375 was coming on strong by the end of the season, the 159 Alfetta was by no means a car that couldn't achieve success. The 159 would still be dominant enough throughout the first half to ensure Fangio his first World Championship.
Talking about the dominant car of the period, what about Alberto Ascari's two World Championships. In this day and age nobody questions the talent and ability of Ascari, but what about between 1952 and 1953? Sure, he had just missed out on the title in 1951, but there would be no denying he had the most dominant car during the Formula 2 era of the World Championship.
What about Fangio's streak of four-straight World Championships between 1954 and 1957. Peering back at that period in Formula One history Fangio's achievements are seen for what they were. He is celebrated and listed as one of the legends of Formula One. He earned four-straight World Championships, but did he earn any of them while driving a car that ran in the mid-field? No. Yes, he may have earned them with different teams, but he would go from strength to strength. Some perspective please. Enzo Ferrari would provide a little. He didn't really have the same love for Fangio as what the Formula One community has nowadays. In many ways, Ferrari criticized Fangio precisely because he showed no loyalty, but went wherever he believed he had his best opportunity for success. Wouldn't this be a Formula One legend recognizing the limits of his talents and the place of a great car in the equation?
The 1960s would be perhaps the closest to what people long for and are imagining in Formula One. Cars seemingly on equal footing, the World Championships would come down to just the skill of the driver and much less on the abilities of the car. But is that what it was really like during the 1960s?
Question…did Jim Clark win his two World Championships while driving for Reg Parnell Racing or Team Lotus? What about Jack Brabham in 1960? Did that championship come while driving for the Cooper Car Company or Scuderia Centro Sud? How about Graham Hill and BRM? Actually, when Hill earned the championship title for the first time in 1962 for Owen Racing driving a BRM it was the first time in which the BRM actually fulfilled the promise spoken of by Raymond Mays all the way back in 1950. The BRM was by no means a mid-pack car that year, and, after a decade of embarrassment, the BRMs should have finally come good.
Think about Jackie Stewart for a moment. He would win his first World Championship in 1969, but he was all the way down in 5th place at the end of the 1970 season. Why was that? The easy and obvious answer, and one that he would state plainly, would be that he didn't have the car in which to repeat. The same would be true of the other World Champions throughout the 1970s. Consider, for a moment the Lotus 72.
Skip ahead to the 1980s. Sure, Aryton Senna nearly pulled off a fantastic coup in the wet at the Monaco Grand Prix in 1984 in the Toleman. But, did he win the World Championship that year with the car? Is his greatness lessened any degree by the dominance of the McLaren team in the late 1980s? If not, why? Is it because he is that revered as a driver and as a talent that the car takes a back seat in the equation? Can the MP4/4 be really overlooked for the powerhouse it really was? Was this not essential to his success?
Don't even remember Nigel Mansell fondly, or as Il Leone, not after 1992. Mansell was a beloved, favored son with the Italian faithful because of his competitiveness and never say die approach. Those numerous moments where sheer grit and tenacity earned him victory and accolade were well-deserved and well documented. But, wouldn't the championship in 1992 at the wheel of the FW-14B prove a lack of greatness? Those critical of Vettel would have to answer, yes. And where were those English fans speaking against Mansell's greatness and skill in 1992? For so long so many people didn't understand all of those people pouring onto the Silverstone circuit, with the Union Jacks flying proudly, were actually doing so to congratulate the car. The history books, and many peoples' memories, need to be rewritten then.
Then there was Alain Prost in 1993. Did he come back and claim his fourth World Championship with Team Sauber? Does the fact he won seven of the sixteen races in the best car on the grid take away from his title as 'The Professor', or, does such a move only confirm the title?
As for the Tifosi, do the years 2000-2004 ring a bell? It's doubtful any of the Italian faithful were complaining then, and, why should they. However, it cannot be considered true reason and judgment of talent to hold one German in reverence and another in disdain. Otherwise, reason has been replaced with merely team loyalty. For to say Schumacher didn't have the best car for those five years is to be delusional, but does that take away from his apparent talent? If so, the record books would tend to disagree. But what might not be realized is that the disagreement about talent cannot be viewed along just one line. Driving ability is certainly a skill, but driving tactically is also a skill. When such skills are balanced beautifully with a gifted car the result is surely success, and that is what must be recognized and appreciated.
But this finally leads to the two names frequently considered as far superior to Vettel in sheer talent. Alonso would become a double World Champion in 2005 and 2006. First of all, to have a back-to-back title run with the same team already suggests a dominant car in addition to having a talented driver. However, look at 2006 in a little more detail. Alonso would win the championship in 2006 mostly as a result of scoring six victories in the first nine races of the season. After that point, his season would take a slight downward turn and he would rely upon every single point to give him his second World Championship. No doubt, his talents as a driver made a difference, and this is where many point to argue the Spaniard's greatness as a driver, but consider what happened after the halfway mark of the season.
It was widely regarded the advantage Renault enjoyed was in part the result of the mass-dampening system employed on the R26. This helped to provide stability to the car in all phases, which no doubt enabled better handling, braking and acceleration. This would be banned following the French Grand Prix and the later-half of the season would see the Spaniard struggle for victories.
This would seem to suggest that it really was his talent alone that made the difference, but again consider for a moment the Hungarian Grand Prix. Alonso had started well down in the field but would be up to the lead before the first third of the race had been completed. He would be in the lead of the race when he came into the pits. Heading back out onto the circuit it would become apparent the wheel nut was not securely replaced and his race would come to an end. It is entirely likely the victory would have been his and that would have padded his championship lead considering Michael Schumacher finished in 8th place.
Then there would be the Italian Grand Prix. In that race Alonso would be fighting hard for position all race. However, with just 10 laps remaining in the race he had managed to climb up to 3rd place and could have kept Schumacher's point gain to a minimum. Unfortunately, engine failure would strike leaving him without any points and Michael leaving the Italian crowd euphoric as he kept his championship hopes alive.
Therefore, considering the events of the season, even with the mass-damper ban, the R26 was still one of the best cars on the grid. Consider also that as the R26's advantage began to be reduced by Ferrari and through the ban of the mass-damper, so too did Alonso's early stranglehold on another World Championship. It appeared that as the R26 went, so too went Alonso's championship hopes. Nonetheless, had there not been those couple of issues over the course of the season the championship would not have ended as tight as what it did.
A look at Lewis Hamilton's lone World Championship would have to begin with a look at his near miss in his debut season in 2007. There are no doubts concerning Lewis Hamilton's abilities; that would be proven in the very first year in which he competed in Formula One. But for whom did he drive? In 2007 there were only two teams that won races throughout the whole of the seventeen rounds of the World Championship that year; they were Scuderia Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes. In addition, McLaren-Mercedes had one of the strongest driver pairings as Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton would be a part of the team that year. While Alonso would show his talent on a consistent basis, Hamilton would be remarkably consistent standing on the podium in each of the nine races of the season. There are no doubts concerning Hamilton's abilities. However, the McLaren team, and the car, had to be given a great deal of credit as well because the team would end the season with its two drivers tied on points for 2nd place at the end of the season. Considering the two McLaren drivers were tied for 2nd place in the standings at the end of the season certainly reflects just how strong the McLaren was that year.
Therefore, 2008 already played into Hamilton's hands. What's more, Alonso would depart the team to go back to Renault. This meant Hamilton was no longer just the junior driver within the team. He was surely the equal, if not number one, driver.
Over the course of the 2008 season, Scuderia Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes would win all but two races. Robert Kubica would win the Canadian Grand Prix for BMW Sauber. And then, at the Italian Grand Prix a certain young German, driving for the mid-field Scuderia Toro Rosso squad would not only start from pole but he would lead all but four laps en route to the victory. What was his name? Oh yeah.
Consider the 2008 season in which Hamilton would win the title on the very last corner of the very last race of the season. At the Bahrain Grand Prix, Hamilton would start 3rd on the grid but would suffer a poor start and it would just get worse from there when he needed a new front wing fitted to his car.
Then there would be Canada. In that race Hamilton would lead the way through the first eighteen laps before the strange pitlane collision with Kimi Raikkonen ended his bid at victory. There was no doubt the young Englishman had been cruising to that point in the race and the potential for victory would have been strong. The effect on the championship would have been important as Massa ended up finishing the race in 5th place adding just four points to his tally.
There would be other races in the season in which Hamilton would not do as well as many would have believed, including the Italian Grand Prix. Nonetheless, the McLaren and the Ferrari were the two strongest cars on the season and a fight to the title certainly was to be expected.
And that brings us to the current three-time World Champion and seeming lock for a fourth. Let's look at Sebastian Vettel's career to this point and try and identify areas where his talents are merely fluke and not worthy of some praise from all Formula One fans.
At the age of just nineteen, Vettel would be promoted as BMW Sauber's third driver and would take part in his first Friday Free Practice on the weekend of the Turkish Grand Prix. In his debut as a Friday test driver, Vettel would go on to set the fastest time in the second free practice. Then, on the Friday leading up to the Italian Grand Prix he would prove to be fastest in both practice sessions.
Making his debut at the 2007 United States Grand Prix substituting for the injured Robert Kubica, Vettel would come away with a championship point in his Formula One debut becoming the youngest ever to achieve such a feat.
Then came 2008 and Scuderia Toro Rosso, a truly mid-field team. Vettel would struggle through the first few races of the season but began to come on as the season went on. After scoring a 5th place at the Monaco Grand Prix he would earn another 5th in the Belgian Grand Prix right before the season made the trip to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix.
Mastering the extremely wet conditions Vettel would go from mid-pack running to starting one of the most historic of Formula One races on the pole. The heavy rain would continue at the start of the race. Still, Vettel would handle the conditions and would be quickly out to a comfortable lead in what was a car that had faired no better than 5th at any point in the season. However, Vettel would be the class of the field and would cruise to victory by twelve and a half seconds over Heikki Kovalainen. At the end of that race Hamilton would make a comment about Vettel stating, 'with all that pressure it is easier to make mistakes, and he obviously didn't, so congratulations to him…'
And this is the most important point that ties together every single one of the World Champions over the decades. Every single one of the World Champions have had the car in which to compete; they have had to have a car capable of success each and every race. However, the talent that exists within every single one and that binds all together is the ability to overcome, look past or genuinely ignore great pressure and deliver. Every single World Champion has had the car and the nerve to deliver.
Those surprising and memorable moments in Formula One history when an unexpected car and driver come through to victory, must not be viewed on the same plane as a World Championship. Was Damon Hill's near miss at the Hungaroring in 1997 while driving for Arrows the difference in the championship that year? It was a great drive by a great driver, but was the Arrows able to fight for the championship that year? Absolutely not.
There is the popular saying 'every dog has his day'. Vettel at the Italian Grand Prix in 2008 certainly proves that. However, it is another thing entirely; and very misguided, to think that the favorite drivers of Formula One history won their championships with cars of sub-par performance. There needs to be an era of perspective and a certain amount of credit given to team, car and driver. If not, it is just jealousy, and it would go away as soon as either Hamilton, Alonso, Raikkonen or their champion enjoyed a run of success like Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing. Then all the Vettel advocates could complain about the merits of those champions.
posted on conceptcarz.com
